[size=75:1l0wyv17]novinite 21 December 2009

3 000 Bulgaria Tobacco Producers Block Bulgaria Highway

3 000 tobacco producers rallied in Southern Bulgaria Monday demanding the payment of agricultural subsidies.

They blocked the Trakiya Highway for 15 minutes near the village of Trud, outside of Plovdiv, as a warning, and vowed to blockade not just the highway but also the border crossing point near the town of Svilengrad. The protesters at the Trakiya Highway came from all across Southern and Northeastern Bulgaria.

A second smaller rally was formed near the southwestern town of Gotse Delchev, at the Ilinden border crossing point.

The protesters near Plovdiv are expecting that Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov, and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov will come on the spot.

They demand the immediate payment of BGN 180 M in subsidies from the 2010 budget.

“Just as the farmers from the other sectors recently received their subsidies, we too have the right to get money, or else we will go bankrupt,” said the chair of the protest committee, Yuliyan Kenanski, as quoted by BGNES.

[size=75:2oll3f99]novinite 21 December 2009

Bulgaria Govt Can't Aid Tobacco Producers over EU Regulations

Bulgaria’s protesting tobacco producers can get only a tiny share of what they demand in government aid subsidies because of EU regulations.

This has been announced by Bulgaria’s Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, shortly after 3 000 protesters blockaded the Trakiya Highway for two hours demanding that they be paid immediately BGN 180 M in state aid.

Naydenov arrived on the spot of the protest near the city of Plovdiv and met with the leaders of the Association of Tobacco Producers.

He said that under EU regulations Bulgaria was allowed to allot up to BGN 116 M annually in aid to the tobacco producers. It paid BGN 108 M in the spring of 2009, which meant it could now pay the protesters only the difference of BGN 8 M.

However, even the BGN 8 M in question have not been envisaged in the 2010 state budget.

“If we allocate to the tobacco producers more money than this sum, we will suffer sanctions by the European Commission, and they will have to return the money. In addition, they will lose the opportunity to apply for EU subsidies under the other programs for the next three years,” the Agriculture Minister said.

Some 3 000 tobacco producers gathered near the village of Trud outside of Plovdiv Monday. They came from Plovdiv, Pazadzhik, Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Ivaylovgrad, Krumovgrad and even from Northeastern Bulgaria.

According to the protesters, the money they have gotten per kilogram of produced tobacco in 2009 so far were 60%-70% less than what they got in 2008.

A meeting of the “Tobacco” Fund at the Bulgarian Agriculture Ministry is scheduled for later on Monday. It is expected to come up with a solution to the situation.